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Idaho Potato Museum

The image of King Spud grins from signs on the outskirts of Blackfoot. While any town in this tater-rich region could claim global preeminence, Blackfoot grabs it with its Idaho Potato Museum, a celebration of the lowly spud and all its varied uses.

At the Idaho Potato Museum, you can "Learn about the agricultural, historical, social, scientific, educational, artistic and economic aspects of the world-famous Idaho potato." A giant chunk of Idaho gold -- the world's largest Styrofoam potato -- lies next to the parking lot, like something that fell off a flatbed truck on a novelty postcard (You can see the potato still on the truck elsewhere in Idaho).

The World's Largest Styrofoam Potato.

There are displays on how the industry grew in Idaho, and exhibits of farming and sorting equipment.

A tribute to Mr. Potato Head sits behind glass.

You can touch the sleeve of the burlap tuxedo worn by Idaho's first Potato Commissioner. In 1998 the museum added a burlap rodeo queen outfit, with vest and skirt, made of potato sacks (Marilyn Monroe once wore a dress made of an Idaho potato sack to prove that burlap could be sexy).

You can touch the sleeve of the burlap tuxedo worn by Idaho's first Potato Commissioner.

There's a speculative section on how the "Potato In Space" might fare.

Perhaps the most amazing of the museum's many unique exhibits is the world's largest potato chip, a 25 x 14-inch Pringle created in 1991 by a team of Proctor & Gamble engineers. This pizza-sized potato snack is in its own display case, has a Guinness World Record certificate, and is the equivalent of 80 normal potato chips. After nearly a quarter-century of display, it is beginning to crack.

During the summer, the Gift Shop sells potato fudge, potato ice cream and potato cookies. A 2005 flood in the kitchen put an end to the free baked potato once given to visitors ("Free 'Taters For Out-Of-Staters").

In 2006 the styrofoam potato was replaced by a similarly titanic tuber sporting a topping of sour cream and butter.